The Rest of London

 The second day of London was much better.  We had a bus tour with an amazing guide named Stuart. He was entertaining and kept our attention the whole time. We went to the Albert Memorial, Buckingham palace, drove by Big Ben, saw St. Paul’s Cathedral, and toured the Tower of London. All of the English Landmarks were incredible to see in person. My favorite place we saw on the second day was St. Paul’s Cathedral. We could also see the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London which was another one of my favorites from that day. I really liked seeing St. Paul’s Cathedral because of the history behind it. Firstly, it’s a huge and beautiful building that was built so long ago without any machinery. Also, during World War II, the Germans continuously targeted London with air raids. A lot of the area surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral was destroyed from this, however, St. Paul’s Cathedral stayed standing. The Cathedral stood as a beacon of hope for the British during this time of war. 

After the guided tour of London I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. The only exhibit we really saw was the Fashion one, but it was extremely interesting to see. My favorite part of the V&A was the crochet cardigan worn by Harry Styles that they showcased in the modern menswear section. Following the V&A, we went to Harrods. I was looking forward to Harrods and it was astounding, however we were all hungry and our feet were hurting at that point which made it somewhat difficult to enjoy. 

At the level of starvation and pain we were at, we shuffled around looking for a quick place to eat. We found a place called Ciro’s Pomodoro Pizza. I would also like to point out that I made the executive decision to eat here. Once we walked in we had to walk down a flight of stairs into a small little Italian restaurant in the basement of one of these Georgian buildings. While walking down the stairs into the restaurant there’s a sign that reads “expect the unexpected” which I didn’t think much of at the time. Once we sat we looked around and saw photos of what must have been hundreds of celebrities who had eaten there. Celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, John Travolta, Bon Jovi, Madonna, and so many more were photographed with the owner of the restaurant. On top of it being a hidden spot for celebrities to eat, the food was excellent. It was an incredible find and experience for us to have stumbled upon.

Later that night we went to two different bars which were also fun experiences. 

On the third day in London we had free time up until a group dinner of fish and chips. For our free time we started out the day by checking out the Spitalfields Market and the Vintage Market. I was excited to see the Spitalfields Market, but I expected it to be just like any other flea market. However, it spanned over what felt like miles and was packed with small shops that had amazing things. We spent hours there, and there were even food trucks. One of my goals of visiting London was to try Indian food, so I was able to get a “try everything” box from an Indian Street Food truck. Overall, it was delicious. It was somewhat spicy but not intolerable, plus it was incredibly worth it. 

After the markets we made our way back to the Tower Bridge to take photos and walk on it for a bit. Then we went to Big Ben to actually be able to see it in person up close instead of on the bus. Seeing the bridge and Big Ben (technically Elizabeth Tower) was just an incredible thing. The thought of how they were able to build such large, and beautiful things is just mind blowing. Looking up at Big Ben and seeing what I had been waiting to see for what seems like forever was just a dream come true.

After that we met up with the rest of the group for a fish and chips dinner. While not being a fan of any seafood, I did try the fish. It was okay. It wasn’t as fishy as I had expected but I don’t love the texture of fish so I only at the chips and drank my cider. Then we took the tube back to the hotel and fell asleep fairly early as we were flying to Dublin in the morning. 

Overall, my experience in London was just amazing and it truly could not have been better.